More staff cuts at Merimbula Auswide

Due to significant reduction in government funding in the last12 months Auswide announced on Monday to retrench a further 16 staff by the end of January.

More staff cuts
at Merimbula Auswide

Due to
significant reduction in government funding in the last

12 months Auswide
announced on Monday to retrench a further 16 staff by the end of January.

Six of these are
from Head Office in Merimbula, the remainder are across other offices in NSW
and ACT.

On Monday CEO of
Auswide, Kevin Stevens, met with all staff and informed them of the decision.

The redundancies
are effective after the relevant notice period has been advised with affected
staff leaving the organisation over the coming weeks.

Auswide has been
managing a tight budget over the last year in an ever tightening economic
climate. With the prospect of no further government funding until at least May,
and possibly longer, Auswide has made the decision to reduce staff.

“It is extremely
unfortunate that we need to take this action at this time as the outlook for
the medium and long term is a positive one. We have a number of tenders ready
to submit for new programs in 2014 such as Green Army, Funding for Homeless
People and Indigenous Employment

Programs – the
outcome of these will not be known for a number of months and we cannot keep
staff on without any money coming into the organisation,” Mr Stevens said.

A number of major
employers throughout Australia are reducing staff due to the poor economic
climate.

The Bega Valley
is equally affected, with a number of job placement and community organisations
reducing staff and empty shops in the three major centres, Bega, Merimbula and
Eden, Mr Stevens said.

Auswide has been
a major employer in the Far South Coast for many years and has recently
completed a purpose built Skills Training Centre in Merimbula in a partnership
with government.

It currently
employs 70 people across NSW and ACT. The reductions announced on Monday will
reduce this to 53.